As Fast As A Flare
by Repeat
Summary: I know the title doesn't make sense, but if you read it you'll get it. Basically it's a one-shot about how one of my characters got her nickname. Rated PG-13 for some language and content. Please R&R!


I'm officially offering cookies to anyone who reviews!!! Is my summary really that bad?  
  
A/N: This is a one-shot story. It's about the origin of one of my characters and how she got her newsie name. I don't have any other stories with her in it yet, but if you guys like her then I might write one. This was only gonna be a page long, but I got to writing, and one thing led to another.... I wrote it at 3 in the morning, so excuse me if it's not some of my best work. Well, R&R, and tell me what you think!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own: newsies (although it would be cool if I did) or Snyder (not so cool. Unless I made him dress up like a clown and made him.....never mind.) I do own: Rooster and Piper (a.k.a. Flare)  
  
"So, what's your story?"  
  
Piper Macoy looked towards the voice. It came from a girl sitting on a nearby bed. She looked about 16, with fiery red hair that stuck out in every direction. She was dressed in a long sleeved shirt that probably had been white at some point, a green button down shirt that was unbuttoned and rolled up at the sleeves, and brown pants with the suspenders hanging down by her legs. A dark blue hat rested lightly on her head, tilted at an angle. She had lively green eyes and a face full of freckles. She took a puff of her cigarette and asked again, "Well? What are you here for?"  
  
'Here' was the House of Refuge, a jail for kids in Manhattan. Piper was in a dimly lit room with five other girls, all dressed in similar clothes as the one who had spoken. There were three sets of bunk beds pushed up against the walls. Moon light spilled in the window, the iron bars casting shadows on the wall. The two younger girls in the room were playing a game on the floor, and the other two were sitting on another bed talking quietly. The girl with red hair sat on the bottom of one of the bunks, the only one with a pillow. She was clearly in charge of the little group.  
  
Piper looked back at the two older girls, who had stopped their conversation and were watching her. "I got caught stealing money." She answered guiltily. She quickly added, "I needed the money real bad, that's the only reason I tried to take it."  
  
The red-haired girl chuckled. "Yea, sure. Everybody needs it bad. But you didn't need it bad enough." When Piper looked at her questioningly, she explained, "When you need it that bad, you don't get caught." She looked Piper up and down again, then switched her cigarette to her other hand, spit in her free one and offered it out. "Rooster O'Malloy, at your service."  
  
Piper reluctantly spit in her hand and shook with... "Rooster?" Piper asked doubtfully. "Where'd you get a name like that?"  
  
Rooster immediately got defensive. "It's a newsie name, ain't ya ever heard of one?"  
  
Piper blinked. "A new what?"  
  
Rooster laughed. "Man, you must not be from around here if you don't even know what a newsie is." She took another deep drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke out before she asked, "So where are you from?"  
  
"It's a long story." Piper replied automatically. This was her standard response whenever anyone asked her about her home. The average person usually took the hint and left her alone. She should have been able to tell, though, that Rooster was not an average person.  
  
"Well in case ya ain't noticed, time is all we got." Rooster waved at the walls around her with her hand. She leaned forward and asked softer, "So?"  
  
All five girls were looking at her now. Piper sighed. "Well, I used to live in Chicago..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ Chicago, 1891  
  
Cory Macoy paced across the floor of his cramped apartment. Another day, another dead-end job search. Since his wife had died two years ago, he had lost his job and his last shred of humanity. He was desperate for money. He owed $200 Jeremy White, the biggest mobster in Chicago. How the hell was he going to come up with that kind of money?  
  
"Daddy?" a small voice asked from behind him. He turned to see his five year old daughter standing in the doorway behind him. She was dressed in a white nightgown, and in her arms she clutched a worn out brown teddy bear. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and asked, "What's wrong Daddy?"  
  
Cory smiled reassuringly. "Nothing sweetie. Everything is fine." He walked over to her and knelt down beside her. "Go back to bed, okay Piper? We have a busy day tomorrow."  
  
Piper smiled sleepily. "Okay Daddy. Will you tuck me in?" She held out her arms as her father stood up and pulled her into his.  
  
"Let's go." He carried her into her small bedroom, put her under the covers and tucked them tightly around her.  
  
"Daddy?" she asked.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"If everything's fine, then how come you said that you were in a bad stich-, a snitch-..." she stumbled over the big word. "A situation. That's what you said." She smiled proudly for saying it properly.  
  
Cory sighed. "Pumpkin, I know things seem bad right now, but they will get better. I know they will."  
  
"When?"  
  
"Starting tomorrow."  
  
"Promise?"  
  
"Promise." He bent over and kissed his daughter on the cheek. "If you go to sleep right away, then I'll have a special surprise for you in the morning."  
  
"Really?" Cory nodded. "Okay Daddy. 'Nite." Piper turned over sleepily and hugged her bear closer to her.  
  
"Goodnight Piper." Cory walked out the door and shut it quietly. Then he walked over to the closet and got out a can of kerosene. He began to pour it all around the small apartment. When the last drop had been shaken from the container, he tossed it on the floor and piled up some crumpled old newspapers near the puddle of liquid. Then he pulled a matchbook from his pocket and struck a match. He held it up to the papers until the caught fire, then turned and walked out of the apartment, out of the building, and out of his life.  
  
Everyone who was in The Hag's Tavern heard the explosion. How could they not? It shook the ground of the city. All the people in the bar ran outside to go see what was the matter. As the men all looked down the block at the flames licking the sky, no one noticed the one man who still sat at the bar, calmly drinking his beer.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"...And that's how it happened. A fireman rescued me before the flames reached me. Gave me this," Piper motioned to a small scar near the top of her forehead, barely visible in the dim light. "They say it was a miracle that I didn't die." Piper smiled bitterly. "Dad never came back for me. Guess it's not exactly a surprise. I got passed around from orphanage to orphanage for nine years until I finally ran away. To here. New York."  
  
Rooster, who had been listening intently to Piper's story, took one final drag from her cigarette. "Why would you wanna come here? I mean, it ain't exactly the best place to be for a run away orphan. In fact," she flicked her cigarette away. "Most orphans run away from here."  
  
Piper shrugged. Rooster shook her head and leaned back against the wall behind her. "That ain't right." Piper wasn't sure if she was talking about her running to New York or her father. She was about to ask when a large wooden door creaked open. A stiff-looking young man strode into the room, and the four other girls in the room stood up immediately, hands at their sides and heads down. Piper, seeing them snap to attention, did the same. Rooster was the last one to stand, ambling slowly over to the end of the bed.  
  
"Warden Snyder would like to see you. It's time for your monthly evaluations. Now get in line!" As the girls slowly started to file out the door, Piper leaned forward.  
  
"What's a monthly evaluation?" she whispered to the girl in front of her.  
  
The girl's eyes darted around nervously as she spoke. "Your monthly evaluation is when Snyder looks at your sentence and figures out how long you've been here, and how long until you get out."  
  
"Oh." Piper said. "How long until you get out?"  
  
Rooster laughed from behind her. "Don't you know nothin'? Whenever someone is close to getting out, the warden just tacks some fake charge on them and adds another month to their sentence. No one ever gets outta here. 'Cept for Cowboy, but he-"  
  
"Hey you! No talking!" the man said. The walked down a short hall and stopped in front of a door. "In there. And no funny stuff this time, Rooster."  
  
"Who, me?" Rooster asked innocently. The man just opened the door and the girls shuffled in. Piper jumped as it slammed behind her. She looked at her new surroundings. She was in a small room with grey walls and a desk in the center. A window with iron bars on it showed the outside street. A man with white hair sat behind the desk.  
  
"Well, let's make this quick. I have much better things to do than this." Rooster muttered something under her breath. "Who is first?" Snyder ignored her. "Let's see... let's start with... Piper Macoy? Come here."  
  
Piper slowly moved from her place in line. Before she could take a full step, she felt cool metal being pressed into her hands, which were behind her back. She walked up to the warden's desk. "Yes sir?"  
  
As Snyder began to talk about her sentence, Piper snuck a look at Rooster. The redhead looked from Piper, to something back on the desk, then back to Piper again. Piper followed her gaze.  
  
On the desk sat a deep black hat. It was the kind that you wore with a suit, with turned up edges. (A/N: I didn't know how to describe it... think the hat he wears in the movie.) It was a very nice hat. Piper stared at it.  
  
"...Were you listening?" Snyder snapped.  
  
Piper shook herself out of the trance. "Yes sir." She gazed past him out the window.  
  
Snyder's POV  
  
Snyder looked at the young girl in front of him. She was dressed like a normal street girl, with straight brown hair cut at her shoulders and green eyes. He could see a faint scar that crossed the corner of her forehead. She looked past him out the window. A horrified look crossed the young girl's face. "Oh my gosh..." she whispered, stepping back.  
  
"What?" Snyder demanded. He spun around and looked out the window. "What is it?" He looked out onto the street, looking for the cause of the girl's fright. When he saw nothing, he turned back around. "Holy!-"  
  
There on his desk was his brand new hat, burning to a crisp. He looked at the girl who was standing there, silver lighter in hand, looking delightedly at the flames. "Why you little-"He jumped up and tried to grab her.  
  
She quickly dodged him and turned. She slammed the door open and ran down the hall. Snyder tried to run after her, but Rooster and the other girls in the room just happened to be standing in his way. When he finally managed to shove past them, he looked down the hall just as the girl ran out the door into the night. He quickly chased after her.  
  
When he got outside, the girl was already halfway down the block. He slowed to a stop, panting. From behind him he heard cheers. He turned and looked up....  
  
... and there in his office window was the five girls. "Yeah, go Piper!" "Go, run!" But one voice, one voice was louder than all the rest. "Look at that girl run! She's gone! As fast as a flare!" Rooster beamed out the window. She laughed and tossed her head back, and gave a loud cry. "ARR-ARR-ARR-ARR-AWWW!"  
  
Piper's POV  
  
Piper turned back at the end of the street. "...as fast as a Flare!" She heard Rooster's call and smiled. As fast as a flare. She didn't know what that meant, exactly, but she liked the sound of it.  
  
As fast as a Flare. 


End file.
